Today I received an email from Leesa which had the subject “I will open a dispute and give you negative feedback”. The body of the message is they’d purchased an item and hadn’t received it.

The reason I thought I’d comment on this email is it is what is called a phishing email which uses social engineering techniques to trick people into clicking on the link. If you click on the link which looks like a link to eBay, you’ll end up on a page which is designed to look like an eBay login page. The page is actually a form created using Adobe Flash.

The social engineering technique is to worry people and trick them into making a mistake. People don’t want to get negative feedback on eBay. I recall one person who was devastated when they received their first negative feedback, so people do take feedback very seriously. The more serious the more easily they could be tricked.

Also this is an example of a site which has been compromised to deliver a scam. The domain was registered in 2002 by a family and their main page has a page for each of the family members. I suspect a person has hacked into their site and planted the malicious code on their site. I’ve written to the owner of the site to let them know.

If you receive an email like this you should delete the email. Don’t click on the link. It is designed to collect your eBay login details. If you have been tricked immediately change your password on your eBay account and anything else which a scammer may use to access your account. For example many sites use hints to help you recover a password. Not sure how eBay security works but you should review any information you’ve provided on your site and perhaps any contact you’ve had with others. I don’t know how the creators of this phishing attempt intend to use an eBay site. You should seek assistance from eBay as to what you should do.

Monday, September 24, 2012

Over time as I read information about technology as part of my consulting activities, I read quite a bit of information about privacy and security issues. Apart from making great dinner time conversation, I find many people are simply unaware of just how much information is being collected on them and how they may be being monitored.

Quite often I too am quite surprised at the level of monitoring. In the age of Facebook, Twitter and Google, many people are so used to publishing so much information about themselves online it is hard to think anyone really cares about privacy anymore. However if you want to find out the private information of all the people who want us to share our private information, you’ll generally find they rarely share anywhere near the same amount of information as others do. We are encouraged to share information because it makes others money. Our privacy is their collateral.

I decided that as I find interesting information regarding privacy and security information I’d share the articles and also add comments and examples so people can appreciate how the information will relate to them. Hopefully with a more knowledge people will be in a better position to handle their privacy as they wish, or at least be better informed.

The first article is the MyAnswers solution 2251 and is now available:

Smart meter data collected from electricity meters may be a privacy and security exposure.

Over the years I’ve often suggested to smaller businesses they may wish to provide a simple web app for their clients to help promote their business. Developing a native app for mobile devices such as the iPhone can be very expensive, but a simple web app is relatively straight forward and much cheaper to produce.

I’ve produced a number of web apps for my own use and these apps now generate a reasonable amount of traffic to my site (www.JustLocal.com.au) thus letting potential customers know about a service I offer.

One app I’ve written I wrote for myself and is now been used by many hundreds of people is the Energy Cost Calculator. An example of using the app is to determine the cost of running your appliances around your home and business. For example a refrigerator consumes around 40-50W per hour. If you’ve got a spare fridge in the garage keeping your beer cool, then you may wish to reconsider because that fridge may be costing you around $100 a year. That’s quite a bit of beer money.

Think about the types of calculator you may wish to provide to your customers. A good idea is to create a calculator which can assist you with your work and in doing so, the money you spend having your web app developed could potentially pay for itself by your own use. Then making the web app available to your customers is a bonus for both yourself and your customers.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Today I tested the Apple iOS 6 maps app. I used my current location and then a location in Sydney Road Fawkner.

Three routes were provided. The is another route I would normally consider, but route 1 which used the Ring Road, is the one I should use and was suggested. My only hesitation is the roadworks that have been going on for years.

I wanted to see if the turn-by-turn navigation was available and it was. At the start it was too slow and if I took its advice I would have missed a turn at a roundabout. It then started to pick up and kept pace with me. The instructions then for when to turn was good. Of course I knew where I was going so I wasn't really dependent.

When in Perth last year we left our hotel and a freeway was about 5km away. It was well after I'd turned into the freeway the app caught up so the app was no help in terms of location, but still a handy map. The maps were also out of date because we had to turn at an intersection where there were lights and the map had a roundabout.

In terms of traffic flow I lost confidence in the old app when I was at a dead stop on the Ring Road once and the app showed traffic was flowing well. The new app doesn't appear to show traffic flow.

Overall I find iPhone maps to be very handy. Apple is copping a lot of flack with their new app. For me it is just different. I lose some features and I gain others.

For example I felt the new app tracked me better and was clearer to read with larger text. Now whilst it didn't matter to me, the new app lets me use the maps in landscape as well as portrait. I noticed once the old app didn't do that.

I have no doubt there will be things I don't like and other things I do. Most people don't like change so expect to read a lot of criticisms. My suggestion is try it for yourself and make up your own mind.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

It appears a lot of people are getting caught out with in app purchases costing them a lot of money.

The approach App developers use, is to give away an app for free and then charge for things as you use the software. It may be additional levels or items for use in the game.

The result is people who want a freebie instead of paying a dollar or two for a paid app, can end up spending tens of dollars or even more. So much for getting a free app.

In particular parents may end up getting charged for their children's in app purchases when using their phone.

You can turn off in app purchases and avoid unexpected costs.

Go to Settings, General, Restrictions and this section you can enable restrictions (you need to enter a pin number which you should record somewhere) and then you can disable in app purchases. Whilst In this section I'd suggest changing the setting for requiring a password ( for purchases) from 15 minutes to every time.

The iPhone defaults are set up to make money for Apple and the developers and you foot the bill. Change the default settings and you are again in control.

OK. My favourite tip. Switch on airplane mode whilst playing games. That way games which are free but use advertising, cannot download ads which may cost you money on your phone plan by using your data. It also stops in app and additional store purchases, but it isn't controlled with a pin, so children can easily change it back to off.

The main thing to know is you have a number of techniques available to assist you in not incurring very costly additional charges, sometimes in the hundreds or even thousands of dollars.

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Microsoft's Windows RT tablets such as the Surface will be released late October. The real question is, “will the device be a success or a flop?” The more I read about these devices the more I get the feeling they’ll by quite a restricted experience. Microsoft have seen how commercially successful Apple have been with their restrictive approach and appear to be taking a leaf out of Apple’s book.

The benefit Microsoft Windows’ users have is Windows has been a relatively open platform. Any developer can write a program in a range of languages and release the programs direct to customers. Apple’s approach has been to force developers to release their native applications via the App Store. The approach has benefits to consumers, but also it is a huge winner for Apple as Apple receives 30% of sales revenue. If as a developer I want to release software direct to clients or the general public without Apple’s involvement (or profit taking), I can’t software. Now Microsoft appears to be copying this approach.

The main thing to keep in mind is don’t just assume Windows RT is the same product as Microsoft’s other Windows software. Think of the versions as completely different products even though they have very similar names. For many this will be difficult. For example, a major selling point of the Windows RT Surface tablet will be the inclusion of Office. Even as an experienced IT person that to me meant people will get Word, Excel and PowerPoint effectively for minimal cost, making it appear you’re getting them for free with the tablet. Initially my thought was the compromise is you don’t get Outlook or Access. But the real compromise is even greater. Based on what I’ve read lately there will be other features missing. For corporate the big omission will be Visual Basic for Applications, or in other words, the software used to develop macros in Office. Most users don’t need macros, but in the corporate world you provide the same version of Office to all users knowing that for power users they’ll have macros, IT staff can if required provide custom macros and all users will be easier to look after. Now if some users have Office on a Windows RT tablet and some users have Office have Windows on an Intel based tablet they won’t get the same functionality. A potential nightmare for the IT department.

I can’t help feeling there will be a lot of unhappy Windows RT tablet buyers. Buyers who haven’t checked into the details and find they’re more restricted than those buying an Intel based tablet running the other, let’s say, main version of Windows.

I expect Windows RT tablets will come out at a very attractive price. From what I’ve read the Windows RT tablets will be launched first meaning those who are compelled to buy and can’t wait will only have the choice of a Windows RT tablet. It may be hard for them to wait if they want to full Microsoft Windows experience and want to run the range of applications that can only be run on Intel based computers.

Before buying a Windows RT Surface tablet, or any other tablet using Windows RT, make sure you do your homework. If you know what you’re getting it should be a great buy. If you don’t do your homework, I suspect it could be a decision you’ll regret.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Today I received quite a few malware emails to different email accounts. One group of emails were designed to appear to come from Microsoft with the subject “Important Changes to Microsoft Services”. Attached is a zip file “Microsoft-Services-Agreement.zip”.

The contents of the file is an executable program which is most likely malware. The anti-virus software I use does not currently pick this file as malware. Keep in mind it takes a couple of days for anti-virus software writers to update their software.

Friday, September 14, 2012

Apple is about to make a killing selling adaptors with the release of the Apple iPhone 5. The 30 pin docking connector which has existed since 2007, has now been replaced by a more compact connector. The problem for Apple users is if you have existing equipment which uses the 30 pin connector, you’ll now either need to buy new devices or an adaptor.

There are two adaptors. The Lightning to 30-pin Adapter/Adaptor (0.2m), which has a short cable and the Lightning to 30-pin Adapter/Adaptor, which is a chunky solid unit. In Australia the prices are $45 and $35 respectively (USA prices $39 and $29 respectively but may not include tax).

One article indicated supply of third party adaptors might not happen this year. With an expected 40-50 million iPhone 5’s expected to sell this year, if even just 20% decided to buy adaptors, that’s a sales windfall for Apple of over $320 million dollars. Not bad really when you’re talking about an accessory made for probably a dollar or two.

If you buy an iPhone 5 you may wish to factor in your need to purchase one or more Lightning to 30-pin adaptors. Alternately, if you wish to wait, perhaps put the purchase off until third party adaptors come out.

What I find is often people think a lot about their main purchase, but often put little thought into accessories so when an accessory is suggested by the salesperson, it’s an easy sell with a very high margin. This is a good strategy for an Apple store to make more money on a sale. When buying consider all components of the purchase and not just the main item.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Today I watched a business person struggling with their Bigpond Mobile Wi-Fi 4G they recently purchased at a Telstra shop. They’ve spent hours trying to get the device to work and had been on the telephone with support for quite a long time but still no luck.

I was assisting another client but offered my SIM card so they could eliminate the service as an issue and identify if the problem was the hardware as they suspected.

The person decided to take the device back to the Telstra shop to exchange the Bigpond Mobile Wi-Fi 4G device for a working device. They were told it couldn’t be exchanged and Bigpond would have to send out a replacement device as Bigpond was a separate business. Not a very happy chap. It really doesn’t make sense. You buy a product from Telstra using Telstra’s services and when you take it back to where you bought it you can’t get a replacement device. I’m pretty sure a lot of people wouldn’t be happy.

When you’re looking at a device from a Telstra shop keep in mind that Telstra provides internet services and devices and also provides Bigpond products and services. In this case, Bigpond was considered a separate business. You may wish to take that into account when buying a Bigpond product from a Telstra shop.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Most new customers I see don’t have even a simple backup strategy in place. After reviewing many backup packages, including backup built into the operating system, I decided they weren’t what I wanted for many reasons included slow speed and even surprising some were unreliable. I wanted easy to use backup software, backups that could be accessed without the original backup software available because when the computer fails, often the backup software has also been lost.

I wrote a web service which generates a script the user can use to perform a backup. The client can then create scripts by filling out the form should their backup requirement change, or I create the script with them. The web service is available as a free service for clients.

A couple of days ago a new Windows 7 user needed a backup and the web service created the script which didn’t work as expected. The backup service has now been updated for the specific Windows 7 files that caused the problem. When Windows 8 is released I’ll again test the web service.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

With the iPhone 5 release announcement just around the corner (rumoured to be September 12th), the question that comes to mind is when will Apple release iOS 6 for existing devices.

If you check an earlier JustLocal blog post on the release of iPhone 4S, the mobile was announced with shipping of product around 9 days later. The release of iOS 5 was 8 days after the announcement, one day before product shipped. I thought that was a good strategy. Whilst it does mean potentially lost sales from those who update their existing equipment, it also meant happy customers who could use features such as iMessage with new iPhone buyers. Having a large number of iPhone users talking about and upgrading their iPhones helps to promote the iPhone. Also the approach kept existing users happy which is a good thing.

The Apple announcement for the iPhone 5 is reportedly scheduled for the 12th of September. The shipping date has been rumoured to be the 21st of September (again 9 days), so a good guess would be iOS 6 will be available for existing devices on the 20th of September. If I recall correctly, the pre-order date for the iPhone was on the Friday two days after the announcement which if the same schedule occurs again, pre-orders will start on the 14th of September.

I find it very interesting that Apple opened pre-orders on the Friday and started selling product on the Friday. I can only guess Apple have worked out the best days to release products and start taking order. Perhaps the end of week and weekend give people the best time to get their new devices.

Based on the iOS 5 experience I found downloads started about 9am Pacific time on the Thursday, which is 3am Friday in Melbourne Australia. However due to demand I found it was not possible to update iOS under late afternoon.

A person I know lost their Applie iPod Touch. They think it may have been on a flight from Brisbane to Melbourne or the taxi. The question is, "can Apple locate an iPod Touch device given its serial number ccqdc38xdcpc?" I'll follow this up with Apple support.

Saturday, September 8, 2012

I used to be a diehard Nokia buyer. If it wasn’t a Nokia I wasn’t interested. But then Nokia started to fall out of favour. I found once I strayed from the hardware and wanted to use software on my computer I wasn’t happy. I purchased a cable kit and all it came with was a box and a cable. No software and if I recall correctly, no instructions. For the price I was very disappointed.

Fast forward and last year Nokia released their Smart Phone with Windows Phone 7 around September, if I recall correctly. I waited and waited. Towards the end of 2011 Nokia was heavily promoting their non-Windows phone in Australia on shows like Celebrity Apprentice and still not releasing a Windows Phone 7 product in Australia. It was well into 2012 before Nokia decided to release a Windows Phone 7 mobile in Australia.

It almost felt like we’d Australia had become a secondary market. If you read articles the BRIC (Brazil, Russia, China, India) group of nations is where the focus appears to be. Australia, we’ll get to you when we’re ready.

I tested Windows Phone 7 and found three simple tests with the browser that failed. To me Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 was not good enough for what I want. The issues I have relate to web page layout, location and transferring content to the internet.

Windows Phone 7.5 was released and the location information was fixed but the layout and transfer issues remained. Transferring content using the browser is still an issue with most mobile devices.

Now just few months after Nokia released their devices in Australia we find existing handsets won’t be compatible with Windows Phone 8. WOW. Talk about quick obsolescence. How could Microsoft bring out software that in less than a year would obsolete their leading hardware partner’s devices!

When Nokia and Microsoft bring out a mobile phone which is so quickly obsolete, and Nokia places Australia down the list in terms of worldwide priorities, it will take a lot for me to have confidence in them again.

Once a Windows 8 Phone is released I’ll again do my three tests. I’m hoping Nokia also reconsiders their timing with their Australian release. If the Nokia/Microsoft partnership continues to treat Australians as a secondary market they’re unlikely to gain market share in Australia.

The world has certainly changed since I considered Nokia and Microsoft as preferred suppliers of choice. That’s a good thing because Nokia and Microsoft now have to work harder to appeal to customers and can’t afford to rest on their laurels.

Friday, September 7, 2012

As an IT consultant I also have a background in development. It is relatively easy to write a simple web application which can be added to a site on the internet. One such example is the Energy Cost Calculator. I wrote this application for myself when I was replacing normal lights with low energy lights and also to help determine the cost of running appliances around the home, with the aim of reducing electricity usage.

The end result is we now use around 6.5kWh per day with a saving of around 60% off our electricity usage bill.

I added the Energy Cost Calculator to my site to help others. It is also an example of a simple web app which clients can review and to decide if a calculator relating to their business could also be added to their site to help their clients.

If you’d like a relatively simple web app written for your site give me a call on 0415 910 703.

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Yesterday I attended a client. They were concerned their screen had changed and perhaps they had done something wrong. They were notified of an update for Flash which they installed. The problem is the update also installed Google’s toolbar which they didn’t expect.

I consider the packaging of software from other companies such as Adobe does with Google products to be a mistake by Adobe. All you need to do is to start confusing users and people will ask, “do I really need this software on my computer?”, which is the question I am now faced with. At that point Adobe starts to lose customers and that is a bad business decision.

I checked my logs for one of my sites (which is mostly Australian users) and based on the statistics, around 18% of people access my site don’t have Flash installed. With Apple’s anti-Flash stance, mobile devices and tablets now generally don’t support Flash.

Until now I would have said keep Flash installed. However this week installing the Flash update myself I found by default the Flash update would have installed Google Chrome. If you don’t want to install Google Chrome you need to take action to deselect the option and a lot of people don’t read the additional information on the screen. A day later a client is confused as a result of the Flash update installing other software. People shouldn’t be confused as a result of an update. In some cases because of the confusion the update is costing people real money because they require support. Support to remove software they didn’t want or need.

In the near future I suspect people will start to remove Flash by default. That way there will be one less update they get prompted for and an update which is now updating their system with unwanted software. I’m going to remove Flash from my system for use with Internet Explorer and see what the impact is. You remove the software via Control Panel. There is often two versions of Flash installed. Adobe Flash Player Plugin and Adobe Flash Player ActiveX. The ActiveX version is for Internet Explorer. The Plugin version is for other browsers.

Remove the ActiveX version and Flash will be removed from Internet Explorer. As a backup you may wish to have a second browser installed (for example Opera) just in case you wish to view pages that require Flash.

If you find you can’t live without Flash, then you can go to the Adobe site and reinstall Flash.

If you go to a page which requires Flash you’ll get prompted to install Flash. So you don’t keep getting nagged every time you visit a page you can select additional options and select the option “Never install software from Adobe Systems Incorporate”.

Longer term however it would appear Flash will have a limited life. The problem is people now regularly use both mobile and desktop versions of browsers. Mobile use is increasing and mobile devices don’t generally support Flash. Adobe have stated they won’t be support mobile versions of Flash. A business with Flash on their web site means already over 18% of potential Australian users can’t use their site as designed and this number is increasing.

If you have a site designed using Flash, then you may wish to consider redesigning the site to remove Flash. Not catering for 18% of potential users is a bad business decision and this number is only going to grow. Tourism sites in particular should move quickly. I’ve already been impacted by tourism sites and when mobile if you can’t access a business’ site, you’ll pick another business to use.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Today when I started the computer I received the usual Adobe Flash update. What I thought was unusual is Internet Explorer opened and took me to the page to download Adobe Flash. Normally people will click on the download and install the update. Next time you get this type of update, pause for a moment and read the screen.

The problem is companies like Adobe not only install their software, but they also install other company’s software. In this case if you just accepted the install, you’d also end up installing the Google Chrome browser.

I regularly visit clients who have installed software and toolbars without knowing how they did it. Earlier versions of Google toolbars for example caused issues with using a Google search designed for American users and not Australian users, so people would get results they didn’t expect. The pop-up blocker on the Google toolbar would cause sites not to work resulting in a technical support call. Earlier versions of Google Chrome also damaged links in Outlook emails so there is good reason to be careful with the software you install as a result of a free download.

Adobe gets paid by Google to trick people to install software they don’t realise they’re installing and people then end up with software on their computer they may not want or need. The software industry is full of this type of trickery and unfortunately for the average user, it ends up slowing their computer down, confusing them, and often resulting in an unnecessary support call.

Next time you get the option to install software from the internet, make sure you read the information on the screen. Deselect any options presented that you don’t want. Most computers I see have been “infected” with legitimate software which can cause the computer to operate in an unexpected way. Free software often comes at a price, you just need to find out what the real price is and make sure you know what you are receiving. If you’re receiving free software or a free service then keep in mind you aren’t the customer. The customer is the organisation paying the money and that often means your interests aren’t being given the top priority.